


Even in your senescence.

by suremiku



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Cancer, Post-Endgame, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-01
Updated: 2016-02-01
Packaged: 2018-05-17 15:10:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5875636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suremiku/pseuds/suremiku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Do you miss him, Mikleo?"<br/>"I do. Every time someone dies, every time someone is born, I am only reminded just how much time has passed. I am only reminded how much he would have loved to see the way things turned out..."</p><p>(a look into the relationship Mikleo and Alisha could have after Soreys sacrifice.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Even in your senescence.

**Author's Note:**

> so i'm a huge fan of alisha and mikleo being good friends, during the game and postgame. alisha and mikleo both care about sorey greatly, and there's truly no need for a love triangle.  
> (plus rose and alisha are DEFINITELY dating so...)  
> ((also uh, lets just pretend with time, alisha managed to hone her resonance... and uh, the time sorey spends asleep, the more people come to terms with seraphim truly existing... yes!))  
> this is my first time writing in alishas POV, and i think for endgame alisha she'd be even more mature than she was in the beginning, perhaps even more. though!! criticism is always welcomed!

Time had past, nearly six decades of time had flown by since the incident that declared an end to the Age of Chaos. Things had significantly gotten more peaceful as the years past, thanks to the hard work of Alisha Diphda of Hyland and the Platinum Knights leader himself Sergei. Together they had managed to keep a peaceful medium between their kingdoms, Rolance and Hyland's borders had never been more peaceful. 

Every story has an end, much like the era they were born in themselves. It wasn't unexpected, he didn't die in battle either. Sergei had died peacefully with his family at his side, both by blood and the bonds he had forged himself. Alisha attended his funeral, not as a politician, but as a friend saying her final goodbye to an old friend. 

The Shepherd- or a Squire as she called herself, had even showed up. People all over the continent of Glenwood had mourned for the loss of a great man, though he had been lost, the people would never forget his teachings. His followers would spread his ideals, the ideals that helped bring about peace instead of war. 

Despite their hardest, there was always going to be problems. Where there were humans, there was malevolence. Where there was malevolence, there was a new Shepherd. It was a cycle, and only the bravest would stand up. They would want to continue what Shepherd Sorey had started- no, they would have to continue. The Seraphim all knew it as well. 

Alisha of Hyland was an honest woman, perhaps a bit too outspoken, but that is why the people of her kingdom had come to love her. That was why time, and time again people would turn an eye to the times where Alisha had to be guided around as her joints were no longer as nimble as they once were. They say she was guided by the seraphim themselves, and anyone guided by the spirits, they could live forever... right?

* * *

“Mikleo, are you here?”

The door shut softly behind the newcomer, their footsteps light as they had been back in their youth. Alisha was enveloped in darkness as her eyesight had faded with old age, but the presence of her friend was something she could sense, resonance or no resonance. 

“Come here, friend.”

The spirit had knelt down, his hands on her knees. Alisha leaned forward, her hands running through his soft hair. “Your hair has gotten quite long, do you think you'll get it cut soon?” she asks, although she gets no response from the other before her. 

She could picture him now, the same face he had when she met him back in the ruins. But with this new addition, he had been growing just like she did. Just at a painfully slow rate. Mikleo shakes his head, and Alisha smiles at him. “Always the silent type, huh? You were always more of an observer, that is unless Sorey was involved.” she giggles when he tenses, knowing he wants to defend himself, but cannot bring himself to. 

“You never did really shut up, as well.” he finally speaks. 

The elderly lady laughs once more, her voice cracking as she responds to him. “They always said I was whiny, but isn't that what made me so powerful as a politician?” 

Mikleo runs his hands, his gloved hands now, across the blanket she had draped over her lap. “You believed in what was right... it's why you and he got along so well.” he says softly, and Alisha doesn't know whether to chuckle or bonk him on the head right then and there.

“It is why you and I get along so well, even sixty years into the future, do not forget about your own efforts, Sir Mikleo.”

She knows he did not come by to reminisce in the past, he had probably caught wind of her ailing health. He was always so gentle, so kind. No wonder Sorey loved him as much as he did. 

“Alisha-” Mikleo tries to speak, but Alisha raises a hand to cut him off. She can hear him make a small noise of surprise, and he lays his head in her lap as she runs her weary fingers through his silver locks. Alisha senses something inside of him, that what felt like an injured animal shying away from someone who just wanted to help.

“Peace, Mikleo. I do not regret my life, and if it is my time to leave soon, then so be it.” is all she can say to comfort him. Mikleo swallows, she knows that he knows this. 

The water seraph's fingers clenched onto her blanket, gripping it so tight she was certain his knuckles were turning white. “I could- I could heal you, you know- it wouldn't be hard...”

Alisha only shakes her head once again. “It is the seraphim that are immortal, not I. Even before I knew that you truly existed, I had always accepted that one day I were to die.” she explains. “Though I had always imagined I would be slain in battle, but slain by a tumor.” Alisha laughs, and Mikleo flinches. She feels bad. 

“Fear not, old friend. I am content this way, this way I will leave this earth with no regrets. I lived my life the way I wanted to.”

“But Sorey- he'd want to-”

“Sorey is not here anymore, you of all us know this. Sorey would not want you to drag out my life any longer, and even then, the kingdom has gotten all they need from me. We have saved both Hyland and Rolance time and time again, I want to meet my friends again.” 

Alisha can feel him shiver and quake, knows that there are tears wetting her quilt. “Rose and Sergei are waiting for me, Mikleo.” she comforts him, cradling his head in her arms. The boy- no, the man let out a choked sob. “It is you who must greet him when he wakes, all of us knew that. It was always going to be you,” she murmurs into his hair. “I'll see him again, one day. I'll be reincarnated, and you won't be able to escape me, you know?” she chuckles. 

Mikleo sobs once again, his shoulders shaking as he shook his head. “I don't want to say goodbye to you- not to another friend. It's too cruel, haven't we suffered enough?”

The princess could not respond. It was true, the one before her had suffered more heartbreak than anyone she'd ever met. It was on par with Lailahs own suffering even. She moves her fingers to cup his cheeks, pulling him so she could squint at him. Through the darkness, she senses him, and its a comforting blue light that greets her. “It is true, we have suffered. But the fact that we, the fact that you have made it so far... it is brave. Most would simply given up.” she swipes her thumb over his cheeks, wiping away the steady trail of tears that slid down his pale face. 

“Alisha...” Mikleo sniffles. “I- I'm sorry... I'm sorry I can't grant you eternal life- gods, this just makes me feel so selfish.” 

She shakes her head. “No, do not apologize. Your birthright is yours to keep, do not feel sorry for me that I was not born a seraph. I am proud of my human status, just as you should be proud of your own seraph status. It has made us who we are today, yes?”

Mikleo is no longer looking at her. “But it has also caused us so much pain...” he mumbles. 

Once again, she moves to wipe his tears, hating the small sounds of sadness he made. “True, but through the pain we faced, we came out stronger. We did not succumb to the malevolence like they wanted us, we are strong.”

“So Mikleo, you've seen how formidable I am. My eyes and bones may not be as strong as they used to be, but my brain is still as sharp as it ever was. You know...” she breathed. “You know death no longer scares me, because I have had time to come to terms with my death.” 

The seraph is silent, instead he just bows his head one more time.

“Will you let me brush your hair, one last time?” Mikleo nods. Alisha is the only one he had ever let touch his hair since Soreys disappearance. She loved to brush his hair, knowing full well the reason why he had not cut it yet. 

He was still mourning.

Mikleo stands up, moving to her dresser to grab the wooden brush adorned with quartz. The actual hairs of the brush were soft, and never did hurt him. He sits before her, his back turned so she can untie the ponytail with shaking hands. When she runs the brush through his hair, she feels him melt back into her. It was a rare, but honest thing to see of him. To see and feel him be so... unguarded was an honor. 

"Do you miss him, Mikleo?"

"I do. Every time someone dies, every time someone is born, I am only reminded just how much time has passed. I am only reminded how much he would have loved to see the way things turned out..." Mikleo tries to word his feelings, and every time he had tried, it always ended up the same. “I... miss him so much, Alisha...” he whispers in a tiny voice. 

Alisha begins to hum, a tune that she had sung to her children when they were infants. A tune that Mikleo loved so much, always had told her she should put lyrics to the tune, but something she never got around to. “I'm glad for that fateful day, the day you and he found me in those ruins. Though I won't lie, at first he did just seem like a lunatic, talking to thin air. How foolish I was as a young girl, for now the one he was talking to now seems to be my closest companion. I'm sure he would be delighted to know that through his sacrifices, our world was able to grow strong once again.”

When Alisha grows too tired, she sets the brush down and clears her throat. “Can you carry me to my bed, please? I'm afraid my legs do not have as much strength as they once did.” 

Mikleo complies, one arm cradling her back and the other holding her knees up. He carefully sets her into her bed, pulling the blankets up to her stomach. Alisha wheezes from exhaustion, and Mikleo puts a hand to her chest, only to quickly pull it away. “Please let him know- that I will forever be grateful for all that he had done, for showing me the way. For keeping me on the path of the light...” Mikleo kneels beside her bed, holding her hand as she speaks.

“I'll let him know all of that, I promise.” 

Alisha smiles tiredly, head pressed into her soft pillows stuffed full of bird feathers. “Goodnight, Mikleo... I'll see you... soon...” 

The next time she opens her eyes, she sees her old friends. This time, she cries.


End file.
